The Great Depression that began in 1929 drastically impacted the local economy of Tacoma. Government programs and military spending helped the city to recover. Camp Lewis expanded into Fort Lewis. McChord Field became Tacoma Municipal Airport. Tacoma Narrows Bridge (which collapsed in a wind storm four months after it opened) was built with Public Works Administration funds.
At the intersection of Dock Street EXD and East D Street, the train yard was transformed into a shanty town during the Depression. Homeless people began to settle on the waterfront in Tacoma’s Hooverville in 1924. As families from McKinley and Hilltop areas were evicted, the population boomed from November 1930 through early 1931.
It’s always fun to look back at old photographs to see how things have changed. Take a look at these beautiful historical photos of Tacoma, WA, from the 1930s.
#1 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, 1935
#2 Sweeney & Sons Store, Gig Harbor, 1930
There was a gas pump in front and a post office. An automobile is parked in front. Further down the Street, a bus and car can be seen on the road. The Baldwin Building shows a boot hanging out front for Baldwin's Shoe Repair. Beside the building is a sheet metal newspaper delivery box for the Tacoma Ledger. The photo also shows a garage with Red Crown Gasoline and Kelly Tires advertisements.
#3 Tacoma General Hospital, 1935
#4 Tacoma City Hall, 1935
#5 Dorothy Apartments, Tacoma, 1930
#6 Tacoma General Hospital, 1935
#7 Street scene of Tacoma, 1932
#8 First M.E. Church – Tacoma, 1935
#9 11th Street, Tacoma, 1930
#10 Goodwill Industries, Tacoma, May 1931
#11 Tacoma Industrial Waterfront View, 1939
Tacoma Commencement Bay waterfront industrial area looking towards the southeast, Pierce County. The dome of the Tacoma union station, water towers, smokestacks, and various buildings are visible in the distance. The immediate waterfront area in the foreground shows large-scale industrial activity. Workers are not present, and the names of the businesses are not visible. The view is part of a large series of photographs related to the construction of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
#12 Goodwill Industries, Tacoma, May 1931
#13 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Construction, 1939
#14 Street Scene, South Tacoma, 1937
#15 Looking North on South Tacoma Way from Fifty-sixth Street, South Tacoma, 1936
#16 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Toll Booth Construction, 1939
The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge Toll booth stations were constructed, ca. 1939-1940. Three workers installed "Stop Pay Toll" signs at the nearly completed Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Several ladders are propped against the toll station entrance. The bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1940, and collapsed on November 7, 1940.
#17 Union Station, Tacoma, 1935
#18 Tacoma Tideflats and City, 1931
#19 Tacoma Hotel Fire Rescue, 1935
A woman is climbing down from an upper-level window at the Tacoma Hotel to escape the fire, October 17, 1935. The woman uses an improvised bed sheet ladder and is assisted by a fireman directly below and another man standing at the hotel window. A great deal of smoke is present, and another man is visible climbing down from a lower-level hotel window.
#20 Leonard Ford, Tacoma, 1931
#21 Eleventh & Pacific – Tacoma, 1932
#22 Goodwill Industries, Tacoma, WA, employees in front of building, 1931
#23 Downtown Tacoma Area and Mount Rainier, 1931
#24 National Soap Company, Tacoma, 1930
#25 Yamane Grocery Store, Tacoma, 1934
#26 Goodwill Industries, Tacoma, 1931
#27 Goodwill Industries, Tacoma, May 1931
#28 Pacific Ave. Tacoma, 1938
#29 U.S.S. Constitution. Tacoma, 1933
#30 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Construction, 1939
#31 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Construction, 1939
#32 Parade on Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, looking north from Eighth, 1936
#33 Wright Park, Tacoma, 1935
#34 Wright Park Conservatory, Tacoma, 1930
#35 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Construction, 1939
#36 St. Paul & Tacoma Timber Co., 1930
#37 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Construction, 1939
#38 Stadium Market, Tacoma, 1931
#39 Steam Yacht “El Primero,” S.A. Perkins, Tacoma, 1930
#40 Max Frolic’s Restaurant, Pacific Highway, Lakeview, 1938
#41 Downtown Tacoma and Mount Rainier, 1930
#42 Looking East on Union Avenue from Fifty-sixth Street, South Tacoma, 1936
The image is taken from the side of the Street. Rain covers the Street and pools against the curb at the right image edge. The rear of four automobiles in traffic is in the image center, waiting for an overhead traffic signal to change. The Tacoma Drug Co., with signs for Coca-Cola, is at the image left edge. Commercial buildings line both sides of the Street in the image center and near the right edge, and some business signs are partially legible.
#43 Stadium High School and Stadium Bowl, Tacoma, 1930
#44 Sumner Tacoma Stage Co. Inc. Blue Line bus, 1930
#45 Market Street, Tacoma, 1930
Across the lower edge photo are cable car tracks. Several cars are parked on the Street and being driven. Two women cross between 2 cars in traffic. Left edge photo, part of the First Baptist Church is visible. There is a sign for the Rialto Theater in the center background and the Medical Arts Building portion. A building in the right half has a painted sign for Rhodes Brothers.
#46 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 1937
#47 Stadium Market, Tacoma, 1931
A large sign in the background advertises: "Rowe's Coffee Roasted Fresh Daily." Bottles rest on the countertop, and various signs in front of the counter indicate the type of coffee and price. In the far background, signs advertising 'bacon, beef, and pork" are visible, and a few customers are shopping.
#48 Tacoma. Looking up Broadway from 13th Street, 1930
#49 Girls’ swimming team, Lincoln High School, Tacoma, 1936
#50 Rhodes Department Store, 944-950 Broadway, Tacoma, 1932
#51 Tacoma Downtown Business District from the Medical – Dental Building, 1930
#52 Tacoma Downtown Business, 1930
#53 B.J. Creager Residence, 2530 1/2 Fawcett Avenue, Tacoma, 1934
#54 Defiance Lumber Co., 4601 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 1935
Ruston Way is visible just above the image's lower right edge. Automobiles are parked on the close side of the Street and by the office building above the image lower center edge. The mill buildings and yards, many stacks of lumber, and 2 cranes are visible across the image lower half.
#55 St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co., logging Camp, 1935
The image shows St Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company's Camp 5. Mount Rainier is visible in the distance on the left. Two sets of railroad tracks run past buildings in the camp. Large tree stumps can be seen among the buildings. A man in a white shirt and dark pants can be seen just to the left of a large stump in the center of the image.
#56 Women Sewing at African Methodist Episcopal Church, Tacoma, 1934
#57 Overview of Tacoma Old Town, Looking North Northeast, 1930
Twenty-eighth Street extends from the image center foreground to the center-right in the middle of the image. The following cross streets run parallel to the image's horizontal edges. Carr Street is in the image foreground, with 3 people in the middle of the Street. McCarver Street is below the image center. Starr Street is roughly at the image center. Two houses with gambrel roofs are at Starr Street and Twenty-eighth Street, towards Commencement Bay.
#58 Almog Music Co. [Unloading pianos in front of the store, Tacoma, 1934
#59 Tacoma, WA Aerial View Looking Northwest Over Downtown, Residential Areas and Tideflats, 1935
#60 Skyline -Tacoma, Wash, 1935
#61 National Soap Company trucks, 1930
#62 Apartment House on 7th and L Streets, 1935
#63 Sawmill workers’ strike. Chief Harold Bird in a gray suit and Chas. MacEchraen, 1935
#64 Stadium High School and Stadium Bowl, 1930
#65 Exterior of Fire Station #3 at 25th and Proctor Streets, 1932
#66 Northwest Brewing Co., 1936
#67 Beach-Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, 1935
#68 Ukulele Club at Lincoln High School, 1930
#69 United Purity Stores, 1930
#70 Eastern House of Bargains on Broadway, 1930
#71 Exterior of Fire Station #3 at North 10th and J Streets, 1932
#72 Old and New Pavilions at Pt. Defiance Park, 1930
#73 Peterman Manufacturing Co., 1930
#74 Ernest Dolge Mill, 1930
#75 Painless Parker Dentist at 11th and Broadway, 1935
#76 Chappell & Grimes Restaurant and Cigar Store, 1935
#77 Half time, Stadium Bowl, 1936
Two lines of students walk by on either side of the band. On the sidelines, in the foreground, are a group of football players. Spectators are seated in the bleachers on the left. Cars are parked in front of the bleachers and on the side of the field closest to Commencement Bay.